Timor Leste is a really small country in Southeast Asia and shares a border with Indonesia. It has an exclave, but is also sharing the border with Indonesia.
How to enter Timor Leste?
Entering Timor Leste is possible by plane, boat and land.
- Plane: Timor Leste has one international airport. It is located in the capital city Dili, most common is to fly from Australia or Indonesia.
- Boat: Timor Leste has some harbors, even though it is not common to enter the country like that, it is basically an option.
- Land: The cheapest way to enter the country is by land. You will be starting most likely from Kupang in the west of the island Timor and will be heading in the direction of the border.
Visa
The visa of Timor Leste is depending as always on your nationality. In the case of Germans and other people from the European Union we don’t need a visa. We just receive a stamp and be told “welcome to Timor Leste” and that is it. So quite simple and not like in Indonesia. There you need to pay each time money when you cross the border.
Little background, all people who were born before the independence of Indonesia are legally allowed to receive Portuguese citizenship.
What are people like?
The people in Timor Leste are quite open after giving them a safe feeling. They won’t trust you right away, but after a little bit of time they can be really open and warm to you.
There are not many people asking for money, but they of course exist as well.
White tourists are seen as having quite some money, but also there are many cases where it is not possible to get the price lower, which surprised me a bit.
Usually people are doing the price higher for tourists and then might end up at a higher, but fair price. In Timor Leste it doesn’t seem like it.
There is a big variety of people, from people living all their life in the mountains based on their roots. Others living all their life on the Sea and others entering modern city life in Dili.
Religion is a part of culture and it is an interesting mix between new and old religion. Spiritual events from the past are still a thing happening in the villages.
It is hard to describe the people of Timor Leste as a tourist, because I am receiving a little amount of knowledge and can’t say it with a guarantee, it is just what I experienced.
What struggles do you might have in Timor Leste?
Payment in Timor Leste is just annoying and also impossible. If you are having a Mastercard, because Master Cards are not being accepted in the country, nowhere.
Also it is quite a cash country and they are using the US Dollar.
Getting from A to B isn’t easy and when you don’t speak the local language, it will be even harder. English isn’t spoken much in the country, so for sure keep all that in mind.
On the one hand it is not expensive and then there are other things where you can’t understand why the price is so high. It really is different based on what you want and where you try to find it.
It is not a touristic country, keep that in mind when wanting to visit, but you will be having a lot of fun, when leaving the capital.
How is the infrastructure in Timor Leste?
The infrastructure in Timor Leste is bad. In Dili the public transportation is working, but when looking further in the country, it is just not on a good level.
The boat traffic from Dili to Atauro Island is also quite decent, but just not often which also makes sense by the amount of people needing to visit the island.
The streets are not in such good condition and there are shady roads in many places, even in Dili.
When starting in Dili, you will reach most places, but when you are somewhere else, it is getting harder. Still people are helpful and will try to somehow help you out.
Summary
Timor Leste is one of my favorite countries, but in order to keep up with touristic countries a lot of things need to improve. Until then you should try to enjoy it and dive into an interesting country which most people have never heard of.
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